Breathe Again
by Raniel Dadcliffe
Summary: Lily and James Potter wake up in their coffin 14 years after their deaths with a lot of questions and enter a Wizarding World with a new war beginning that has very few answers to offer. "Leave it to the freaking Potters to continually defy the laws of nature." Begins during Order of the Phoenix and continues through the series.
1. Strange Awakenings

**Disclaimer: My name is not J, K, or Rowling. So… I own nothing in this story.**

 **IMPORTANT A/N – The inspiration for this story was SphinxScribe's "Blood Binding," but other then the resurrection of the Potters during the same time period the stories will be pretty different. Shout out to SphinxScribe for writing a kickass story.**

 **This is my first story so please review :)**

 **...**

CHAPTER ONE: Strange Awakenings

In his 21 years James Potter had woken up in plenty of strange places. Finding himself dangling on one of the Quidditch goal posts and curled up on the staff table in the Great Hall, however, paled in comparison to this. He couldn't be sure, of course, but if the stench surrounding him and the mahogany wood uncomfortably close to his face told him anything then he had just woken up in a coffin.

He felt someone stir beside him and whipped around. His entire body ached in protest and he groaned. The sight that met his eyes however seemed to wash away all his pain. Emerald green eyes blinked open beside him, flinching at the onslaught of sunlight from above them. Lily. Beautiful Lily.

Lily wasn't feeling too beautiful, though. She felt as if the Hogwarts Express had hit her full force.

"James?" She croaked. Her vocal cords felt like they hadn't been used in a decade, and she coughed before beginning again. "Where are we? Where's Harry?"

James sat up slowly, helping his wife sit up with him. He looked up at the blue sky shining above them. "I-I think we're in some kind of coffin."

Lily gaped at him, looking around and reaching the same conclusion. They were laying on something akin to a mattress that was covered in frills and they were both wearing their best robes, though there were holes worn through the sleeves and the fabric smelled of something putrid.

They stood up quickly, James scowling at a beetle that had made itself at home on his shirt and flicking it off quickly. He was just tall enough to look over the ledge of the hole and his heart sank at the confirmation that they were indeed in a graveyard.

"We're surrounded by headstones, Lily. We have to get out of here. Maybe Harry is here too."

Their wands were nowhere to be found, and their limited practice in wandless spells was making escape from the hole rather difficult. In the end, James hoisted his wife over the edge before scrambling over it himself. After they'd managed to get back to ground level, they were both covered in dirt and their robes were a miserable excuse for appropriate attire. That was the least of their worries, though. Just beyond the pile of dirt that had been rather crudely dug up was a pearly marble headstone neither of them had ever hoped or imagined they would see.

 _In Loving Memory_

 _of_

 _JAMES POTTER * LILY POTTER_

 _Born 27 March 1960 Born 30 January 1960_

 _Died 31 October 1981 Died 31 October 1981_

 _THE LAST ENEMY THAT SHALL BE DESTROYED IS DEATH_

"What the hell is going on?" James's eyes glinted in anger. He'd both seen and participated in hundreds of pranks, but he couldn't imagine someone playing such a cruel joke like this.

"I remember a green flash, but… we obviously didn't die. I mean… we couldn't have." Lily wasn't used to feeling so lost and confused.

James pulled his wife close, and Lily allowed herself a few moments of weakness. The couple dropped to the ground together. Lily turned and buried her face in her husband's shoulder, letting her tears fall. They were tears of frustration more than anything else. Surprisingly, the cries had nothing to do with waking in a coffin, a traumatizing experience for anyone else. Neither of the pair was dwelling much on their own circumstance. Their resurrection hadn't fully sunken in and that was a can of worms neither was willing to open just yet. Harry first. Much to Lily's disappointment, however, there were only flashes of memory when she tried to recall the last moments she'd spent with her son.

"It's all so fuzzy," James muttered, mirroring Lily's thoughts. He slammed his fist against the dirt. " _Dammit!_ Someone is messing with our lives! And they might have our son!"

They cried together. For Harry. For themselves.

After several minutes the couple stood together. Lily reached up to wipe away her tears and turned to her husband. "We have to get back to the house. We have t-to find Harry."

They walked in silence, clutching each other's hands like lifelines. They thought through their last memories as they continued their journey to the house.

"He found us…" Lily muttered, "he found us and we tried to run, didn't we? Harry and me… You told us to run."

James blinked, pieces of the night retuning to him. "I was going to hold him off." He scoffed then. "Seems I didn't last very long. He still managed to get to you guys, didn't he? I bought you – what? – 2 minutes _maybe_."

Lily looked up at the dark haired man, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"This isn't your fault, James. We did everything we could. _You_ did everything you could."

He let out a bark of laughter that was anything but amused. "Wasn't enough, obviously."

The silence fell around them again. There wasn't much to say.

The town was exactly as it always been, wooden cottages lining the narrow stone paved streets. Once they arrived in the square, however, they were met with a new sight. It appeared to be an obelisk, but the slight shimmer surrounding it was a telltale sign of magic.

As the couple neared the statue, its true form began to take shape, and with horror the two looked up at dark marble replicas of _themselves._ The Statue Lily and James were sitting together, the Statue Lily was holding a content Statue Harry, and Statue James had his arm slung over them both.

"It's some kind of memorial," Lily concluded, not daring to get any closer to it.

James swallowed deeply before offering the woman next to him a small smirk. "Even as a statue I'm devastatingly handsome. Don't you agree?"

Lily gave a small smile, shoving her husband playfully. "You're alright, I guess."

James adjusted his glasses that had been knocked slightly askew from the push, his smirk widening. "You _guess_? Don't take my good looks for _granite_ , woman." He winked as she rolled her eyes at the bad pun. His smirk faded, however, and the humor in the air died with it.

"How long after a murder do you reckon it takes to put up one of these?" James asked.

Lily shuddered, but offered no answer. None was expected.

"We could've been gone for months, Lils."

Lily squared her shoulders, refusing to let the unfortunate truth affect her. "All the more reason to find Harry as soon as possible."

The two soldiered on. They tried to ignore all of the strange and horrible things they'd seen, but that was something easier said than done. Both were violently trying to shove the thoughts aside while trying to convince the other that they were okay.

Reaching their cottage, the two stopped once again.

'Cottage' wasn't exactly the right word to describe the ruins in front of them. Half of their once charming home was now completely concave, as if a boulder had been dropped on it. The gate was smashed apart, the door lodged in one of the nearby trees and only one of the wooden beams still standing.

"He ruined our home," Lily choked out, before frowning and looking up at James. "He found it... How did he find it?"

Only a look needed to be exchanged between the two before they knew. "Peter," James spat. Then he shook his head angrily. "No! There must be something we're missing! He was like a brother to me; he wouldn't have betrayed us. Not to Voldemort."

"It's the only explanation," responded Lily quietly, bringing her other hand to their intertwined fingers and rubbing the top of his hand. She was just as shaken as he was, having taken care of Wormtail as if he was a younger brother. She tried to shake the thoughts from her head. Peter was not her priority right now. She gently released James's hand before moving forward toward the house. James stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"What if it's some kind of trap?" He whispered, looking around for signs of suspicious activity.

Lily froze, looking around as well. They were Aurors – Order Members – and she mentally scolded herself. She should have known better.

There was a flash of movement, and both whipped around, assuming defensive stances. They might not have had their wands but they'd be damned if they went down without a fight. What they saw, however, was merely a raven. It stared straight at them, cawing at them before flying away. They both let out a breath but didn't relax. They stood back to back, scanning their surroundings.

"Seems clear on my side," Lily offered.

"Mine too," James responded. "But something doesn't feel right." Lily agreed, and neither of them moved.

For several minutes they stood as still as they could, making as little noise as possible.

Slowly, they turned to each other again. "Forget the house. We should get out of here," Lily said quietly. "It doesn't feel right. We can come back when we're more prepared." James nodded in agreement and both turned to quietly slip away. Before they could take one step, though, they were met with five people standing a few yards away. They had only managed a glimpse of the people – one with bright pink hair and one that looked suspiciously like Alastor Moody – before the familiar ring of _stupefy!_ rang through the air and they both fell into darkness.

 **...**

Bellatrix rushed down the hallway, her fist clamped around the collar of the squib's shirt as she dragged the woman towards the dining room. The doors swung open as she approached them and a smile spread across Bella's face. She entered the hall, bypassing the majestic marble pillars and mahogany table of the Malfoy Manor dining room without a second glance. When she reached the lone throne at the end of the table she dropped the unconscious woman on the ground before bowing at her Master's feet.

"My dear," he hissed, "I hear you have news for me."

Bella knew better than to look up. "Yes, my Lord."

"You may rise."

The woman stood tall, smiling proudly and dragging the woman up again. With a flick of her wand the woman woke and immediately began to shriek. A quick _crucio_ from Bella's wand and a promise for more if the woman continued to wail took care of the problem rather quickly.

"My Lord," Bella began, "the squib here," a kick aimed at the squib's stomach served as an introduction, "she's the Order's precious pet, and she had a _lot_ to say. _Didn't you?_ " She cooed down at the woman. Then she smirked. "She's seen the Potters rise from their grave, my Lord."

If the Dark Lord was surprised by the news he didn't show it. "An interesting development indeed."

Bella didn't know what to do. This wasn't the reaction she'd been waiting for. "Well, My Lord, there are several Death Eaters surrounding them as we speak. Shall we go fetch them for you?" She smiled widely.

Nagini slithered toward her Master and Voldemort reached down a pale hand to stroke her head. "Not today, my dear Bellatrix."

Bella wasn't used to being denied violence, but she bowed her head again, knowing not to question him. "Of course, My Lord." Then she looked up, unable to restrain herself. "My Lord, you seem as if you already knew this was going to happen."

"Of course I knew," he hissed without hesitation, "I'm the one who brought them back."

 **...**

 **R &R to give a smile to a new author**


	2. Unexpected Tests

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing**

 **A/N – I'm still floating on the "I'm new to fanfiction and this is so exciting" cloud, so two chapters in two days it is. Also, the cover art I'm using for this story is called "Happy Days" and I found it on posted by bbonkers.**

 **A HUGE THANK YOU TO:**

 **gleefan2009, snowball0709, Irma White, and fanfici0naddict for reviewing and a thanks to everyone who favorited and/or followed – you all put such a smile on my face**

 **…**

CHAPTER TWO: Unexpected Tests

James decided he was over waking up in foreign places. For the second time in one day he woke to find his entire body screaming in pain and his glasses pressed into his skin. He opened his eyes slowly, making sure to keep his body still in case his captor was in the room; he didn't want to be interrogated or tortured before it was absolutely necessary. James's eyes were met with a dim light from a lamp in the corner but no people. He glanced around hesitantly, remembering how the people had appeared silently back in Godric's Hollow.

He frowned at the memory. He was accustomed to Death Eaters wearing masks of some kind, but he could still remember the face eerily similar to Mad-Eye Moody's and a flash of pink hair. He imagined that this meant they weren't planning on him living long enough to tell anyone who had taken him. James Potter had never really been one to follow other people's rules, though.

He examined his current situation, planning an escape. His hands were tied to each arm of the chair and his feet to the two front legs. The rope was thick and dug into his skin harshly and was probably charmed to dig deeper the more he struggled. Lucky for James, and unlucky for his captor, these ropes would pose little challenge. They'd put him in a wooden chair. Idiots. Auror training had put him through tasks much more difficult than this.

Taking a deep breath, James threw his weight back so the chair began to tip. As the chair came crashing to the ground the wood of the chair began to crack, splintering away until all that remained of the chair was a pile of what could have been firewood and loose rope.

 **…**

Stunning charms tended to work on Lily for less time than normal people – something James and Sirius had always teased her about ("You're such a light sleeper even when someone puts you into _magical unconsciousness_ you wake up at small noises") and she'd been awake for around 15 minutes, trying to find out more about her surroundings.

She knew there were woods surrounding them, but that didn't hint much at their possible location. Her husband was being kept in a different room, but she knew that he was probably in the same building – or _house_ , more likely. It would be too much unnecessary work to bring captives to separate locations.

Lily also came to the conclusion that the only other people in the house besides her and James were the five captors, judging from the few footsteps and murmurs of conversation she was able to catch. That meant she wasn't being kept in Death Eater headquarters, something she was extremely grateful for. Getting past 5 Death Eaters wandless would be a challenge, yes, but it was the lesser of two evils if the alternative was trying to escape from You-Know-Who himself.

As soon as she heard the crash she sprung into action. She knew James was breaking his chair and she forced her own chair back, her stomach dropping a she began to crash down. Breaking free of their bonds at the same time would earn them at least a few minutes. The Death Eaters would surely hear the crash wherever they were, but the joined crash of the two Potters would force the Death Eaters to check both rooms. More than likely only one Death Eater would be sent to check each room, still leaving three to fight them and make getting out a problem.

Lily didn't bother checking the lock on the door, figuring it locked from the outside, and instead ran full tilt at it, throwing her shoulder against it. The pain in her side was worth it, however, as the door came crashing down. She sprinted from the room, following the echoes of what she hoped were her husband's footsteps. She could hear shouts from the floor below and then a pounding of feet but she tried to block it out.

She nearly collided with James when she ended up finding him. "There was a forest outside of the window of my room," she breathed out quickly; they'd have time for a reunion later, "more coverage for a chase. We have to make it down there." James nodded and they grabbed each other's hands before running away from the voices.

The _down there_ was the problem. The Death Eaters all seemed to be storming from the same place, meaning that there was only one staircase – only one escape exit.

"I could _really_ use a wand right now!" James huffed as they ran. "Or a broom, or _anything_ really."

James's words sparked an idea in Lily's head and she immediately stopped and began opening all the doors near them frantically.

James gaped at his wife. "Lily, love, if you haven't noticed we are being _chaSED BY DEATH EATERS!"_ He shouted in a whisper, not wanting to alert anyone to their position.

Lily shot a pointed look over her shoulder before continuing her search. "There must be one here…" she muttered, "must be… A _Ha!_ " She withdrew from what seemed to be a small closet holding a lame excuse for a broom. The broom was made of a light brown wood that didn't look like it could stand being tapped against a wall, much less carry two humans, and the hairs on the end were puffed up from years of use. She smiled proudly, and James scowled.

"How the hell are we supposed to fly that? It's got no magic!"

"But _we've_ got magic James. We can do this, I know we can!"

The voices were getting louder and James squeezed his eyes shut before nodding once. As they ran to nearest window James whispered frantically at the green-eyed woman besides him. "This is a horrible idea, you know? And _I'm_ saying that; that's gotta tell you something."

" _What it tells me,_ " Lily began, "Is that you need to be more open-minded."

A well aimed kicked from Lily sent the window flying open, and James couldn't help but smirk proudly. As they clambered onto the broom together, Lily in front, James silently prayed they didn't break _all_ their bones when they inevitably came crashing down.

James reached his arms around Lily so they were both holding on to the broom and they kicked off the window.

Just as James predicted, they immediately began to fall, but Lily forced as much magic into her hands as she could, feeling it practically crackle between her fingers. The broom shuddered a bit before finally beginning to fly, though still much too slowly as far as James was concerned.

Lily beamed. "I _told you._ " She said smugly.

"I wouldn't get too confident yet, love, seeing as a bumblebee just flew past us." Despite his pessimistic words, James couldn't help the smile that touched his lips as he spoke. "We need to get to the ground so we can get some actual distance between us and this house."

He shot a look over his shoulder as he spoke and blanched. There were people on the ground already, making a small semi-circle behind them.

"Uh, Lils," James began, laughing nervously, "any way we can, you know, put the pedal to the metal on this thing? Cause there's a _teensy_ problem behind us right now."

Lily cursed under her breath. "We're both already losing a lot of energy just trying to stay up." They frantically tried to think through a plan.

The decision was made for them, however, as they found their broom slowly falling to the ground. The circle of people was closing in around them, and the couple got into defensive stances as soon as they hit the ground. Not that it would make a difference. They could both be dead or otherwise incapacitated in seconds should their captors please. _In fact_ , Lily wondered, _why haven't they attacked yet? They've had so many opportunities._

All thoughts were knocked from her, however, as she met eyes with someone who was unmistakably Mad-Eye Moody. She fell against James a bit, who'd been standing with his back against hers.

" _Alastor?_ " She breathed out.

 **…**

 _Six hours ago_

Sirius Black's post-Azkaban hobbies included: trading verbal blows with his mother's portrait, grooming Buckbeak, trying to get in on missions, being yelled at by Minerva and Molly for trying to get in on missions, writing Harry, utilizing various kitchen tools to attempt and pry Walburga's screeching painting off the wall, and general grumpiness.

Ever the wild card, other Order Members often tiptoed him around because of his tendency to try and flirt his way into being brought places. This was becoming less and less common, however, after he'd attempted to play his charms on Minerva and had been stuck in his dog form for hours. This wouldn't have been nearly as humiliating if she hadn't transfigured his fur into a bright Slytherin green.

Needless to say, Sirius was bored out of his mind. The closest people he had to family: Remus and Harry, often found themselves otherwise occupied. Harry was trapped with the Dursleys and Remus was the active Order member Sirius wished he could be. Not to mention the werewolf's gloominess from his lack of a job wasn't serving to make him great company.

Despite this, whenever Remus had free time the two marauders could be found together. Sirius was currently across from Remus, a Muggle board game between them.

"You landed on Fleet Street," he said smugly, eyeing the small convertible over the red square. "£220, if you will."

Monopoly, Sirius had decided, was undoubtedly the most underrated Muggle creation. The pair had tried Scrabble before this, but Remus had kept forming words that Sirius couldn't even pronounce and Remus insisted that half of the words that Sirius came up with were three letters or were entirely made up.

This game had them on even playing fields.

Remus huffed. "You didn't pay me last time you landed on Leicester Square, and that's £260, so really you owe me £40."

 _Somewhat_ even playing fields.

Sirius gestured at the empty space in front of him that had once held his money. "Does it look like I can pay you anything?"

Remus smirked. "I guess we'll just add to your debt, then." He pulled out a pen and began scratching the information on the already cramped sheet of paper.

"You seem to be enjoying that," Sirius muttered, picking at his nails and trying his best to appear like he could care less.

Remus beamed. "Immensely."

Before either could roll the dice again, Albus walked into the room, his hands clasped behind his back.

"I must speak with the two of you immediately." He swept out of the room without another word, and the two exchanged glances.

Remus spoke quietly to Sirius as they followed behind the headmaster. "That was rather…"

"Snape-like," Sirius finished.

Remus nodded. "Must be bad."

They spent the remainder of the walk in silence, contemplating what it could be. Harry was the first potential topic, Remus and Sirius both concluded. What didn't make sense to Remus, however, was calling them _both_ over. While Remus was close with Harry and viewed himself as somewhat of an uncle and mentor to the boy, something serious would surely be told to Sirius first, as his godfather.

The three walked briskly through the halls until they reached the room that Dumbledore had been using as an office of sorts. It wasn't built for meetings, and both Remus and Sirius found themselves standing as the old wizard slumped down into his chair, rubbing his temples. This was nothing like the twinkly-eyed Dumbledore they knew, and words were lost to them.

Before the silence became too unbearable, however, Dumbledore flicked his wand and conjured two more chairs for the men.

"Please sit," he said quietly, "I have some very… I have news."

The two men sat warily.

"I was contacted by one of my eyes in Godric's Hollow," Remus and Sirius both swallowed. "Some disturbing things seem to be happening."

"W-What were you told?" Remus asked.

The silver haired man sighed heavily. "Last night, she saw a wizard with a silver hand rushing from the cemetery, looking extremely nervous."

"Silver hand?" Sirius questioned, his voice dark. He knew of only one wizard with a silver hand. "It must've been…"

"Peter Pettigrew, yes," Dumbledore nodded. "He was seen carrying a large bag and she reports that he must have been in the graveyard for a relatively long stretch of time because she didn't see him enter."

"What the hell was he doing?" Sirius was surprised to find the question leave Remus's lips before he could ask himself.

"Unfortunately," the old man began, "his activities remain a mystery." The wizard frowned like he was appalled that there was something occurring that he didn't know about. "Whatever it was, though, it's had some extremely… _interesting_ results."

"Did he do something to the Potter grave?" Even the thought made Sirius sick.

"It seems that way, as the coffin is now empty."

Both men across from Dumbledore jumped up. "He _stole_ the Potters?" They asked together.

Dumbledore shook his head, "No, no. Though, I'm not sure if the truth is going to settle you." He took a deep breath. "According to my source, the Potters then later… _woke up_."

Remus slumped back down in the chair, leaving an open-mouthed Sirius standing alone. "The Potter skeletons are wondering around Godric's Hollow?"

"Yes and no," the ever-clear Dumbledore responded. "They seem to be a little more than just skeleton. Whatever Peter has done has given the Potter _bodies._ "

"Like Inferi?" Remus asked incredulously.

Thankfully, Albus shook his head. "No, my dear boy. They appear to have normal flesh and bones. In fact, they apparently look exactly as they did 14 years ago."

Sirius sat down, unable to keep himself up.

Seemingly having calmed slightly from sharing the news, the headmaster of Hogwarts leaned forward on his chair, clasping his hands together on the desk. "I have sent a retrieval team to pick up the Po- to pick the two people up, and I've told Severus to get Verituserum should it become necessary to force answers out." Here he cast them both a stern look over his spectacles. "However, I know that the two of you knew the Potters better than anyone else. And you will also be playing a role as we move forward."

Sirius didn't hesitate. "What do we need to do?"

Albus offered a small smile.

"I was toying with the idea of setting up an opportunity for us to observe the couple's behavior and compare it to what we know of the Potters. Something they wouldn't suspect where they'd be forced to act like their true selves. Something we could use to see if the similarities go deeper than skin."

Remus leaned forward. "I know what to do."

 **…**

 _ **Present**_

 _"_ _Alastor?" She breathed out._

The man gave the closest thing to a smile she'd seen. "You passed."

 **…**

 **R &R to save a Nargle. **

**A/N – I promise next chapter will have (at least) one reunion scene and maybe Harry will let us know what he's been up to.**


	3. Repeat Introductions

**Disclaimer: What's this "ownership" you speak of? I've never heard of that before.**

 **A/N – I'm so sorry fam! This chapter's actually been reading to go for a while but my computer got a virus (yikes). Brightside is the next chapter is almost done so it should be up very soon (fingers crossed). Also a very happy birthday to the cutest bean to ever bean – Harry James Potter. 3**

 **...**

CHAPTER THREE: Repeat Introductions

Lily and James's desperate questions were all ignored as the couple were escorted back into the house. Lily was about to tear her hair out by the time they finally got back inside. The two were taken to two chairs - the only things inhabiting the room.

"Okay!" James began, "we're sitting and wandless and now some answers would be very much appreciated!"

Moody huffed and leaned against the wall. "Well, you certainly sound like him."

The couple paled. "Is that what this is about?" Lily asked. "Give us Verituserum or something, please, I promise it's really us. Ask anything."

"As much as I love a good interrogation, that's not my job in this mission."

The two looked around at the other people in the room: a black wizard in dark blue robes, a woman with bubblegum pink hair, a brunette who bore an amazing resemblance to Emmeline Vance, and a witch with black hair. Would one of these people be questioning them?

"Shouldn't it be someone that knows us well?" James questioned.

"Of course," the black man stepped forward, "that's why we-"

"We called the canines and that crazy old wizard, they're the ones who'll be taking charge on this."

"Alastor! Stop interrupting me!"

Mad-Eye rolled his eyes in response.

Canines? Crazy old wizard? "Remus, Sirius and Professor Dumbledore?" Lily asked, "that's who you meant right? They're coming here?"

"Thank god!" James breathed before anyone answered. "They'll know it's us, Lily."

Moody just stared, narrowing his normal eye as the electric blue one continued it's normal perusing of his surroundings. "That remains to be seen. Until then, how about some quiet, yeah?"

Lily felt magic wash over her and didn't have to try speaking to know they'd just been hit with a silencing charm.

 **…**

As soon as Kingsley's patronus vanished, the three wizards sprung into action. Well… _sprung_ really only applied to Sirius, who flew from his seat and barreled towards the door at a speed that rivaled his animagus's. In contrast, Remus froze and his eyes became dangerously large. Dumbledore kept a cool head, locking the door before Sirius could go and be reckless and pulling out the vile of Verituserum Snape had delivered.

"What are you doing old man?!" Sirius's manners had already taken a hit from over a decade in Azkaban and while he'd been good about his _pleases_ and _thank yous_ he was never one to remain calm under stress.

"It would be best if you would try to remain calm," replied Dumbledore smoothly, the way one might talk to a toddler. "You need to keep a level head if you want to be able to truly decipher if these are the Potters. Like Mr. Lupin here."

Remus probably wasn't the person to look to in this moment. As calm as the werewolf could be in the face of dementors and the like, facing friends who'd been dead for over a decade was far scarier than anything he'd faced before.

"U-uh ye-yeah," he muttered, trying to be the responsible friend. "I'm sure it'll be o-okay."

Sirius merely rolled his eyes. "Our friends might have _come back from the dead_ so we need to get there _as soon as possible_." A determined look crossed his face and turned to face the old wizard. "I'll keep a level head. I promise."

Albus narrowed his eyes but nodded. "Then off we go."

Dumbledore had to keep a hand on each of the marauder's shoulders to hold them back once they got to the house.

"Even if they reacted the same way Lily and James would have during the test doesn't mean we can eliminate the chance that they're death eaters or are following the will of the Dark Lord. When we walk in there you have to seem confident – _calm_."

The canines blushed, both nodding furiously. Albus huffed at the apparent lost cause and let the two run forward. At least Remus was pretending to be calm, he conceded.

Sirius stopped directly in front of the door, allowing Remus to catch up with him and giving him a second to collect his thoughts and breathe. The two then looked at each other and nodded before entering the room.

 **…**

James was beginning to wonder how much longer they'd have to wait before a _crack!_ resounded and footsteps began rushing towards them.

The first to enter the room was an extremely frazzled man that bore an astounding resemblance to Sirius Black. Directly behind him, however, was a nervous looking Lupin. He had more scars than before and - _dear god was that a grey hair?_ In fact, both of the marauders looked a little worse for the wear. James would have yelled in surprise if he wasn't still under a silencing charm.

Sirius gaped openly at the couple as well, releasing a string of expletives that were cut short after Remus smacked him upside the head.

Dumbledore was the last one to enter the room, and the couple was extremely happy to finally see someone who looked the same. The only thing different about the wizard was the cautious expression he wore and his new baby blue robes.

James must've looked like he was going to explode from not being heard because Moody quickly raised the silencing charm.

"Sirius! Remus! Professor! _Thank God!_ "

"Whoa," Sirius whispered to Remus, "sounds just like him."

Remus nodded, wide-eyed.

James and Lily were nearly sobbing with relief at this point.

"You brought the Verituserum?" asked the black wizard.

Dumbledore nodded holding up the vile.

Moody gave a smile that wasn't at all friendly. "Then I guess it's time for a little drink for our precious Potters, yes?"

Kingsley rolled his eyes. "Ominous as ever."

Mad-Eye ignored him, instead approaching the couple with the Verituserum. "Open wide."

 **…**

The potion didn't taste particularly bad, but Lily still grimaced as it went down. She knew that it didn't just make you tell the truth, it was more like it loosened your brain. It was hard to filter any thoughts at all, and she was worried about what might come out of her mouth.

Dumbledore conjured three chairs across from Lily and James, the Headmaster, Remus and Sirius sitting down while the other five people stood quietly against the far wall.

"I've never interrogated someone before," Sirius whispered to Remus.

"Shut up they can hear you."

Dumbledore pretended he didn't hear anything, instead speaking to the two across from him.

"How about you two state your names?" Simple enough.

A chorus of "Lily Potter!" and "James Potter!" rang through the air and the Headmaster winced.

"Sorry about that. How about for now James answers first?" He cleared his throat. "Now I certainly don't know the Potters as well as these two," he motioned to Lupin and Sirius, "but I know enough for some basic questions."

He asked simple questions about Hogwarts in the marauder's time there, such as: first Gryffindor password, first rule they'd broken, how many OWLs they'd received, the classes they'd done the worst in, and so on. They both rattled off correct answers, looking slightly frustrated at their inability to control what came out of their mouths. Some of his questions were a bit darker, asking about their time in hiding and the prophecy, and they both prayed the questions would stop coming so they didn't have to think back on those times.

Eventually, Albus gestured to the two besides him. "I believe you two may begin now. The basics are through."

Sirius swallowed and removed the list of questions Dumbledore had made him write from his pocket. He cursed as he began smoothing out the paper, wishing he'd taken the time to fold it.

Lupin began. "How and when did you find out I was a werewolf?"

"It was pretty obvious, mate," the words flowed from James's lips before he could even think them through, "you were taken away on full moons, covered in cuts, and angsty as hell for a few days before and leading up to the full moon. And besides, it was really suspicious that you could smell what I had for dinner three nights before."

Remus cracked a smile. Then Lily gave her answer. "Well _officially_ I found out when you all pulled me aside like some sort of intervention-style meeting and told me," Lily rolled her eyes, "but I had my suspicions."

"And what did you both say to me when you found out?" Remus asked.

"Well you went full emo werewolf," James said with a smirk, "and asked why were weren't afraid of you. And we told you we could never be scared of someone who cries when they spill pumpkin juice on _one page_ of Mysterious Magicks."

"And I said I would always be there to help you." The two bookworms shared a smile.

"My turn!" Sirius cut in. He looked over his list. "Uh… what was wrong with the first marauder's map we made?"

James grimaced. "It exploded whenever you tried to open it."

James grinned. "Right it did. And for Lily," he turned to the redhead, "what was the topic of our first conversation?"

Lily turned slightly away from her husband so he couldn't see her blush and muttered, "James's hair."

"My oh my," she could hear the smirk in James's voice, "what's this I'm hearing?" However the immediate flush that followed his words showed that he hadn't been expected to say anything at all.

The couple only seemed to grow redder as the questions continued. Most of the questions were about there Hogwarts years but there were the occasional childhood questions and questions about they're time before moving to Godric's Hollow. Remus and Lupin seemed to be taking a lot of enjoyment out of this, asking questions about Lily and James's more embarrassing moments. It seemed to go on forever, Dumbledore sitting amused and watching the Potters turn various shades of pink. It didn't help that there were five other people in the room, all trying to remain stoic but cracking smiles and chuckling quietly.

Only a patronus coming and requesting to speak to Kingsley Shacklebolt snapped Dumbledore out of his enjoyment of the situation. The Potters watched the black wizard who must have been Kingsley Shacklebolt follow the patronus from the room.

Dumbledore smiled at the four in front of him. "The Verituserum will be wearing off soon, but I have one last question to ask before we finish."

The word _finish_ had never sounded more beautiful and both of the Potters were sure they'd answer nearly anything if it meant the interrogation was over.

"Around a month before that Halloween night," Dumbledore began, looking at James, "you entrusted me with a very unique magical item to study. What was it?"

"My invisibility cloak," James spoke immediately. Dumbledore nodded, satisfied.

"Well, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, I do believe we can safely say that these are the Potters."

A sob escaped from Sirius, and Lupin, James and Lily were quick to follow. They all collapsed in on each other, grasping and clinging without knowing who they were holding through the tears. No one spoke, only soft cries breaking the silence of the room. Albus had left to allow the four to reunite after so long apart, gesturing to the other four around him to do the same. He had more questions now than ever before, but he supposed a few minutes wouldn't hurt.

He walked down the hall, making sure to keep the room in sight should something dramatic occur, but wanting to speak to Kingsley about the patronus that had called him away.

 **…**

The four were nearly suffocating from their embraces, but it was worth every second without air. For the Potters, it was more pure and utter relief than anything else. For Remus and Lupin, however, it was more than they ever could have hoped for. They clung to two in front of them with all of the pain and loss of the past fifteen years.

When they all finally pulled away, their faces wet and red, Remus laughed lightly. "Incredible. I can't believe you're real. _You're real_."

James grinned. "Of course I'm real. No one could imitate my charms." No one in the room could even roll their eyes at James's comment, smiles spreading across all their faces.

"I suppose this is quite shocking for you," Lily said. "Seeing as we… we died."

"You have no idea," Sirius muttered, his eyes not leaving the pair.

"How long have we been gone, anyway?" James asked, leaning against the chair in exhaustion. "I hope Harry's been okay without us."

Lily and James had never seen smiles drop from someone's face faster.

"W-what's wrong?" Lily's mind immediately jumped to the worst conclusion. She'd assumed because Harry hadn't been in the grave with them that he'd lived through the attack. Maybe she was wrong. "Is Harry…?" She let the question hang in the air.

Remus waved his hands frantically in front of him. "Very much alive, I assure you."

Lily collapsed back onto her chair in relief.

"Then what's wrong?" James asked, "You both look like you've seen a ghost."

"…More time may have passed than you both might have thought," Remus finally spoke when it became clear that Sirius couldn't form words.

"How long?" the Potters asked together.

Remus and Sirius made eye contact, both of them wincing. Lupin couldn't bear to look his old friends in the face as he spoke, instead speaking to his hands. "Fourteen years."

They didn't remember getting up, but all of a sudden the Potters were both on their feet, Lily's hands flying to her hair and James's hands on Remus's shoulders, shaking him roughly.

"Tell me you did not just say _fourteen fucking years_."

Before anyone could respond, though, Kingsley burst back into the room.

"Sirius!" He barked, much less composed than the wizard they'd seen before.

Sirius jumped to his feet, recognizing the urgency in the Auror's voice. "What is it?"

"You're godson's gotten himself into a boatload of trouble again, that's what."

Godson. _Godson. Their_ son _._ Their son had gotten himself into trouble. Their apparently _fifteen_ _-year-old son._ Lily and James thought they might faint.

 **…**

 **R &R to save a reckless internet user like me who really needs to get antivirus software. **


End file.
